More than 1,000 years of history.

The Joigny vineyard was first planted in the Middle Ages. The first vines were planted in the 10th century around an old Jovinian monastery transformed into a fortress. The various local religious congregations quickly expanded it and made the vineyard prosper. With its population of hardworking farmers in the service of their lords, Joigny became a focal point for production of Burgundy wines, recognized for their quality. The precious beverage was transported by water as far as Paris.

One Sunday in 1704, the Sun King discovered Joigny's Vin Gris in a more-than-surprising meeting with a Jovinian winegrower at a mass in Paris. This "Wine of the Roses" that Pavillon had him taste so delighted the king that he asked his Grand Cupbearer to order some. So beginning in 1704 the Vin Gris de Joigny – Côte Saint Jacques flowed copiously at the Court of Versailles. In addition, the farmer was authorized to sell his wine without paying taxes! As a sign of the recognition of King Louis XIV the Great, the bottles of Vin Gris bore an enamelled medal around their neck en graved with fleurs de lys, the symbol of the French monarchy.

In 1783, Joachim de la Mothe, a physician at the Hôtel Dieu Hospital in Paris, defined the virtues of the Vin Gris de la Côte Saint Jacques. "Harmoniously marrying the qualities of the wines of champagne and Bourgogne, happily combining their constituent principles, the wines of Joigny do not overload or work the stomach; they do not cause long and dangerous inebriation."

Vin Gris is appreciated for its aperitif and balsamic properties: providing balm for the heart, it soothes and consoles… Giving pleasure, it gives happiness, as Epicurus would have put it.

In his Grand Dictionnaire de la Cuisine, Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) selected the wines of Joigny and Côte Saint Jacques as being absolute must-haves for the well-stocked wine cellar.

The same author cited Joigny's Vin Gris as the favourite drink of the famous Jean de la Fontaine (1621-1695) and his poet friends. This noted epicure found happiness in a good meal washed down with Joigny wine. Heeding the recommendations of the imposing Vatel, maître d’hôtel to the Grand Condé (1621 1686), the very powerful Superintendent Fouquet (1615-1680), protector of La Fontaine, Pélisson, Molière and other artists at the Court of Versailles, was thus obliged to serve Vin Gris at the sumptuous feasts he gave at Saint-Mandé.

At the Collège d’Harcourt in Paris, which became the famous Lycée Louis le Grand, Joigny wine was served to honoured guests and to house officers on holidays. This school welcomed pupils like Racine, Boileau, Pierre Nicole, Cardinal Hercule de Fleury (chaplain to Louis XIV and tutor to Louis XV) and many other illustrious men.